February 2019

Give Peruvian Lily to say “good luck”, “I’m devoted to you” and bring this usual and very pretty flower into your home to bring with it the energies of success, good fortune, friendship and strength. I personally think this is a wonderful flower in office spaces to promote a friendly and happy environment while working towards the common goal of increasing productivity and prosperity.If this flower seems to pop up for you then it is telling you that better times are coming! Bunches of love,Cheralyn 🌻

Card: The Language of Flowers by Cheralyn and published by @rockpoolpublishing and @weiserbooks

This flower will assist balance to be had in any situation. A great plant to focus on to help find guidance, answers and to also ground yourself.If you feel drawn to this flower - You may need to be a little patient at the moment and be careful if any extreme thinking or actions. Bunches of love,Cheralyn🌻

Card: Flowers of the Night, written and illustrated by Cheralyn in block print @rockpoolpublishing @weiserbooks

👢I thought I was getting THE moon boot off this weekend but it's just not there yet. With 11 breaks, it is looking more like 8 weeks of healing but things are going well. I'm allowed to be out of the boot a little over the next two weeks yah!! I drew a few flowers on my boot to cheer me up. Sharpies and the black is with a Sharpie Extreme. Oh and thats me with one of my eye patch elixers I love making. photo of me: Karen Burgess

🌝 SUPER MOONOn Wednesday evening I went for dinner at The Entrance with friends and the beautiful Super Moon shone down upon us all on our wander home...

NEW TITLE 🌿🌸I can't show you the art I'm working on at the moment as it is still firmly under wraps with my publisher for an upcoming title of mine but here I am working away at the linocuts. There is a very large manuscript that goes with these and I am also working diligently away on that alongside the artworks.

🌻 FLOWER SPELLSThere are a lot of lovely messages from people who have found my new books 'The Book of Flower Spells' and 'The Book of Herb Spells' and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to now continue this series with another two books coming out later this year and I'm working on the next two after that! Thank you everyone for connecting with and loving this collection of my plant spells, stories, wisdom and tips.

🌸 AROUND THE GARDENNasturtiums everywhere!

The last of my Cosmos. They are a legacy plant that obviously have either been here before me or they have drifted from someplace else. I love the colours and the way they delightfully dance on the late summer breezes.

🌿 IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEKThis week I am harvesting: baby eggplant, rosemary, thyme, creeping thyme, black chillies, cos lettuce, candy stripe roses, nasturtiums, Tom Thumb tomatoes, chives, radishes, cucumber. This week I am planting: nothing the moment but I have begun to propagate a couple of fiddle leaf figs from my ridiculously high tree (mine is about 40 feet high)This week I am working on: tidying up the vegetable garden as there are a lot of annuals that need attendance, cutting back my kangaroo paw, gladiolus and dahlias. Saying goodbye to the cosmos and zinnias.

Back in 2010, UK Flower breeders Ball Colegrave announced that they had created the first black flower. They came pretty close, but a true black colour in a flower is scientifically impossible. What Ball Colegrave flower breeder Jianping Ren had developed was a very dark purple petunia that is still available today and is know as, ‘Black Velvet’. Still very impressive, as up until this time, there was nothing anywhere near this depth of black in any flower, let alone a petunia.

Stuart Lowen, from Ball Colegrave in Banbury said: 'It's completely unique. It's the first black petunia anywhere in the world. It was created by experimenting with existing colours already on the market and breeding them using traditional methods. We don't use any genetic modification at all, just pollination.”

Flower naturally grow in many colours, just not black. The pigments that flowers employ to colour their petals don't produce black. While ‘black-looking’ flowers are found occurring naturally, breeders also select flowers with the highest levels of red and blue pigments and when cross them together. In doing so, they can sometimes create very dark purple petals and leaves.

Flower colour will slightly change or add an additional layer to the meanings and energies of flowers. Black will actually make the meanings far more powerful, stronger and, be careful, even more aggressive. Below are just a few black flowers and their meanings and energies. You can connect with these via the fresh or dried flowers, botanical creations made with them, flower essences and images (photos, artwork, oracle cards) or through meditation and visualisation.

This divine flower will help you slow down and connect more deeply with that which makes you content. Surround yourself with the flower, it’s essence or image to help you complete projects in a more methodical and focused manner and to boost happiness in a space. Give to another to say ‘I have great affection for you’, ‘I like you’.

Bunches of love,Cheralyn🌻

Card: The Language of Flowers deck by Cheralyn @rockpoolpublishing and distributed by @weiserbooks

My divine nasturtiums are flourishing at the moment so they are you Flower of the Day Bring them into your life to help ground and focus and also to help you win challenges and succeed in tests and even disagreements. Nasturtiums will help you return to centre and stay true to your passion, goals and visions. Give to another to day ‘congratulations’, ‘you can do this’ and ‘I’m with you on this’

Bunches of love,Cheralyn🌻

Card: The Language of Flowers, by Cheralyn and published by @rockpoolpublishing and available through @weiserbooks

The lovely Cornflower can mean 'delicacy' and for this reason it also can help when keeping secrets or when you need to employ a little more diplomacy. If you are moving into a new home, beginning a new job or working and socialising in new groups, Cornflower brings blessings of good energy and offers protection.

Kangaroo Paw is a type of grass and I love growing these in busy family areas of my garden as they promote friendship and harmonious social activity. They are pretty hardy but hate hate wet feet, so well drained soil is a must. Cut them right back after flowering to ensure good growth next season. Kangaroo Paw can be grown in pots and I have tried this myself with great success in various homes, in all sorts of climates.

In the Language of Flowers, nothing says "I'm sorry, please forgive me" like a Kangaroo Paw! As a healer, they provide wonderful support for those who find social activities and interactions difficult and they are really gentle and lovely heart healers for those experiencing hurt they have felt from the actions of others.

bunches of love, Cheralyn 🌻

car: 'The Australian Wildflower Reading Cards' written & illustrated in block print by Cheralyn and published by Rockpool Publishing

If you like these Flowers ~ These beautiful billow blossoms usually appeal to those with an outgoing nature, who have a very romantic side, adore their comfort and although they can be very gregarious, do have a lovely calming influence on their surroundings when needed. Flower Support ~ Bring these flowers into your life when you need some extra caring, assistance shining in your true light and to show gratitude. They are particularly helpful if you have been through a challenging time and are needing support to find yourself again. These are also very good flower to give to another to show your gratitude. Botanical History ~ A native to the Southern States of the USA, Mexico, the Caribbean and northerly parts of South America. Other common names include, Prairie Gentian and Texas Bluebell. The botanical name comes from the Greek words ‘lysis’, which means dissolution and ‘anthos’, meaning flower. Flower Oracle ~ If this flower is calling to you in some way, take heart that you are cared for, especially if you are facing challenges. For some, this could mean a romantic time approaches including a new relationship or positive change in a current one. Make sure you are taking time for yourself.

As the weather cooler a little, I worked outside a lot this week. This is looking out over my beloved back garden, oasis this week. I am working on a book (not part of a current series), that will be released later this year I hope, if not, next year.

In the garden I am doing a lot of clearing up of leaves! My 9 magnificent gum trees are shedding a lot of spent leaves and twigs and the hot summer winds are helping move that process right along. I'm harvesting lots of basil, chillies, parsley, chives, rosemary, last of the silverbeet, cos lettuce, tiny toms, sage, sorrel, cucumbers and I am blessed with many beautiful roses! The last of the most wonderful sunflowers has faded for the year and I've carefully collected millions of seeds. I am sure there are at least thousands! one of my herb patches this week

one of my lovelies with a card from my Flower Reading Cards deck

harvest!

I am catching up with a cluster I missed last year at Pearsons School of Floristry ~ Hand Tied. Learning how to create bouquets and flower presentations and prepare them for sale and for occasions.

This week I had a lot of fun on STUDIO10 again, sharing some flower love and fun

Next week I plan to:*ensure I get a Flower of the Day up for you all every day! *climb up to the half-way mark on the new book I am writing. *complete a few block prints I have sketched out*catch up on my Pearsons School of Floristry assignments *repot my Devil's Ivy and propagate a few new babies *plant some leeks and radish and perhaps some more lettuce. *tidy up all my daisies!